MANGALORE : At a huge protest organized under the aegis of the Federation of DK District SC ST associations in front of the DC office in the city on Friday, Dalit leaders called upon the community to boycott Vijaya Karnataka which was publishing defamatory and abusive write-ups against Umeshchandra, lecturer in Mangalore University and the Dalit community.
Earlier the Dalits took put a procession from the BR Ambedkar Circle upto the Deputy Commissioner’s office and later on even expressed their anguish by burning copies of Vijaya Karnataka.
Senior advocate Dayanath Kotian who inaugurated the protest said people who could not tolerate the progress registered by the Dalits in various fields including education were harassing Dalits in different ways and that the derogatory write-ups in Vijaya Karnataka was a part of this agenda.
Noted thinker Deekayya who also spoke demanded that the Vijaya Karnataka editor Vishweshwar Bhat be immediately arrested and dismissed from his post and also that the doctorate proposed to be conferred on him by Dharwad university be withheld.
The agitators have also warned to boycott all products of the advertisers in Vijay Karnataka and also launch a campaign against the Times Group if the demands were not met with.
Nirmal Kumar, President of the Federation of SC, ST Associations, said the Dalits would continue their agitation if their demands were not heeded to. Jayan Malpe, State organizing Convenor of the Dalita Sangharsha Samithi Prakash Byadarahalli, State Organizing Convenor of DSS (Ambedkar), Achyut S, Girish Kumar, SP Anand, Ganesh Nidle, Rohitaksha K and other Dalit leaders took part in the agitation.
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